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THE 



TEACHER'S Dream 



W. H. VENABLE 




NEW YORK 

G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS 

182 Fifth Avenue 

1881 






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By G. p. Putnam's Sons 



TO 

MY TEACHERS 

AND 

PUPILS 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 

DESIGNED BY H. F. FARNY. 



The Sower Engraved by Speer 7 



Coming Home from School 

The Teacher 

Barren Field 

The Senator 

Boy Declaiming , 

The Preacher 

Boy at Blackboard 

Author 

Idlest Boy 

Mother 

Careless Child 

School-House 

Walking Home 

Wheat Field 



Speer 9 

Heinemann 11 

Speer. 13 

Smiihwiek &r' French . 15 

Heinemann 17 

Sniithiuick ^ French. 19 

Smithwick i^' French. 21 

Speer. 23 

Hurley 25 

Heinemann 27 

Harley . . . 29 

Speer. 31 

Harley 33 

Barley 35 



THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 

The weary teacher sat alone 
While twlliaht grathered on ; 

And not a sound was heard around, 
The boys and girls were gone. 

The weary teacher sat alone, 
Unnerved and pale was he ; 

Bowed 'neath a yoke of care, he spoke 
In sad soliloquy : 



THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



" Another round, another round 
Of labor thrown away, — 

Another chain of toil and pain 
Dragged through a tedious day. 

" Of no avail is constant zeal. 

Love's sacrifice is loss, 
The hopes of morn, so golden, turn 

Each evening, into dross. 






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THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



" I squander on a barren field, 
My strength, my life, my all ; 

The seeds I sow will never grow. 
They perish where they fall." 

He sighed, and low upon his hands 

His aching brow he prest ; 
And o'er his frame erelong there came 

A soothing sense of rest. 



14 THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



And then he lifted up his face, 

But started back aghast, — 
The room by strange and sudden change 

Assumed proportions vast. 

It seemed a Senate hall, and one 
Addressed a listening throng ; 

Each burning word all bosoms stirred, 
Applause rose loud and long. 



i6 THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



The wildered teacher thought he knew 
The speaker's voice and look, 

" And for his name," said he, " the same 
Is in my record book." 



THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



The stately Senate hall dissolved, 
A church rose in its place, 

Wherein there stood a man of God, 
Dispensing words of grace ; 



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THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



And though he spoke In solemn tone, 

And though his hair was gray, 
The teacher's thought was strangely wrought, 

" I whipped that boy to-day." 




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THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



The church, a phantasm, vanished soon 
What saw the teacher then ? 

In classic gloom of alcoved room 
An author plied his pen. 



24 THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



" My idlest lad ! " the teacher said, 
Filled with a new surprise — 

" Shall I behold /izs name enrolled 
Among the great and wise ? " 



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26 THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



The vision of a cottage home 
The teacher now descried ; 

A mother's face illumed the place 
Her influence sanctified. 




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THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



" A miracle ! a miracle ! 

This matron, well I know, 
Was but a wild and careless child 

Not half an hour a2"o. 



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" And when she to her children speaks 

Of duty's golden rule, 
Her lips repeat, in accents sweet, 

My words to her at school." 



30 THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



The scene was changed again, and lo, 
The school-house rude and old, 

Upon the wall did darkness fall, 
The evening air was cold. 



3 J THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



" A dream ! " the sleeper, waking, said, 
Then paced along the floor, 

And, whistling slow and soft and low, 
He locked the school-house door. 



34 THE TEACHER'S DREAM. 



And, walking home, his heart was full 
Of peace and trust and love and praise; 

And singing slow and soft and low, 
He murmured, " After many days." 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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